I’m not a big fan of the ‘Objective’ on resumes even though I see them all the time. The reason I don’t like them is because they usually don’t mean anything to me, i.e. they’re irrelevant. And if something on your resume is irrelevant to the person reviewing it, you shouldn't include it.
But I get that an Objective can be a good filler of space, especially if you don’t have a lot of experience. Keep in mind though that the Objective is generally the first thing an employer sees at the top of your resume. It’s basically your introduction to them – your first impression on paper. So a generic sounding Objective just ain't going to cut it. So if you’re going to include one, make it awesome by making it totally relevant to the company you're applying to. Here's how:
But I get that an Objective can be a good filler of space, especially if you don’t have a lot of experience. Keep in mind though that the Objective is generally the first thing an employer sees at the top of your resume. It’s basically your introduction to them – your first impression on paper. So a generic sounding Objective just ain't going to cut it. So if you’re going to include one, make it awesome by making it totally relevant to the company you're applying to. Here's how:
Many Objectives on resumes read something like this:
Objective:
Seeking a challenging, dynamic opportunity where I can thrive in an innovative company with room for growth.
Unfortunately, a generic Objective is code for: I’m blasting out resumes by the thousand and I hope this applies to your company because I did zero research on you. Please hire me.
Because the Objective is the first thing employers generally see on your resume, you should spend the most time on it and ensure it’s 100% relevant to the company you're applying to (i.e. do your research!). If you wrote the following Objective to me, I’d probably sit up and take notice:
Objective:
Seeking a (position being offered) position with (Rodger's Company), where I can feed my passion for (an aspect of the job being offered) learning about and serving the (industry Rodger's Company serves) in a team-based environment of respect, resourcefulness and fun.
The reason why I'll sit up an take notice is because it's all about me, my company, my industry and my company's values. In fact, just by putting my company's name in your Objective you've separated yourself from about 95% of the applicants I'll be reviewing. What's more, all of this relevant information about my company is readily available on our LinkedIn page, our company web site, our Twitter feed and our Facebook page. In fact it would only take you about 15 minutes of research to put this all together.
And isn't 15 minutes worth it to be put in the 'to interview' pile?
Objective:
Seeking a challenging, dynamic opportunity where I can thrive in an innovative company with room for growth.
Unfortunately, a generic Objective is code for: I’m blasting out resumes by the thousand and I hope this applies to your company because I did zero research on you. Please hire me.
Because the Objective is the first thing employers generally see on your resume, you should spend the most time on it and ensure it’s 100% relevant to the company you're applying to (i.e. do your research!). If you wrote the following Objective to me, I’d probably sit up and take notice:
Objective:
Seeking a (position being offered) position with (Rodger's Company), where I can feed my passion for (an aspect of the job being offered) learning about and serving the (industry Rodger's Company serves) in a team-based environment of respect, resourcefulness and fun.
The reason why I'll sit up an take notice is because it's all about me, my company, my industry and my company's values. In fact, just by putting my company's name in your Objective you've separated yourself from about 95% of the applicants I'll be reviewing. What's more, all of this relevant information about my company is readily available on our LinkedIn page, our company web site, our Twitter feed and our Facebook page. In fact it would only take you about 15 minutes of research to put this all together.
And isn't 15 minutes worth it to be put in the 'to interview' pile?
